Pouring nozzle and stopper



Feb. 9, 1965 cs. J. HORNICK POURING NOZZLE AND STOPPER Filed May 15, 1963 xmm.

United States Patent Office 3,168,766 Patented Feb. 9, 1965 3,168,766 POURING NOZZLE AND STOPPER George J. Homick, 1743 Etruria St., East Liverpool, Ohio Filed May 13, 1963, Ser. No. 279,905 2 Claims. (Cl. 22--85) This invention relates to the pouring of molten metals and the like from vessels, such as ladles, and is particularly concerned with new structure, such as pouring nozzles and stoppers, for these purposes.

Ladles used in commercial steel ingot pouring or casting are provided with a pouring nozzle located in their bottom end wall that iscontrolled by a stopper member within the ladle. The stopper generally is actuated through a series of levers extending from the stopper head to a point externally of the ladle. The lever. within A vieW of the stopper tip or head bouyancy with respect to the melt, the thermal shock to i i which it is subjected and similar considerations contribute to give it a short life, whereupon it must be repaired as by straightening, must be covered again with refractory sleeves and be retipped. Many of these same considerations prevent the stopper from completely stopping the flow of melt from the ladle as the ladle is moved from moldto mold. For example, the stopper rod tends to .whip due to its length thereby making it diflicult to seat the stopper on the nozzle. :dangerous working condition and results in significant waste of melt..

A ladle may contain from 100 to 350 tons of metal. The passage of so much molten metal around a stopper .tip and through a nozzle bore severely erodes those mem- ;bers. This, too, contributes to a lack of proper seating of the nozzle stopper.

vide a metal receiving and pouring device that includes a This situation obviously is a i a refractory floor.

pouring nozzle and stopper that can provide a more eflFecf tive seal than is presently obtained with conventional nozzles and stoppers. v

It is another object of the invention to provide, in combination with a receiving and pouring device, a nozzle and stopper assembly that is so other wear on the mating surfaces will not prevent suitable seating, and therefore closure of the nozzle bore to the passage of melt.

tailed description and the attached drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is a side view of a ladle showing, in dotted lines, a nozzle and stopper assembly;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged detailed view of a stopper member or head and nozzle constructed in accordance with the present invention; and

FIG. 3 is a view of another stopper and nozzle according to this invention.

The objects of the present invention are largely obtained by providing, in conjunction with a receiving and pouring vessel, a nozzle and a stopper member or head shaped to provide seating surfaces that upon erosion will continue to provide positive closure, and having a shape such that the stopper will be guided to positive seating engagement despite the possible whipping of a stopper lever assembly and the adverse elfects of the melt on the assembly.

The invention will be most readily understood by reference to the attached drawings and the following detailed description.

Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown a conventional constructed that erosion or through an opening in the bottom of the ladle.

downwardly toward each other.

50 Other objects will be apparent from the following de- V ladle 5 adapted to contain molten metal or other material that may be in an amount up to about 350 tons. In its bottom end wall 8 is located anozzle 9 having an outlet 10 extending therefrom. Directly over the nozzle and shown, in FIG. 1, in the seated position is a stopper lever assembly indicated generally by the numeral 12. The bottom end of the stopper is the tip or head 14 that is adapted to seat on the inner surface of the nozzle.

While not shown in detail, it will be appreciated that the ladle 5 is provided along its inside surfaces with one or more layers of refractory material to protect the metal shell of the ladle from the melt to be carried thereby. It will be further appreciated that the nozzle is set within the bottom of the ladle in a position that its bore opening into the ladle is about the lowest point therein so that molten metal will naturally flowor gravitate to it. These are details that are apparent to those skilled in theart and, accordingly, further discussion of them is unnecessary. 7

Referring now to FIG. 2, there is included an enlarged t 14 and of the nozzle 9. The stopper head 14 is keyed or otherwise supported on the end of the stopper rod 15 of the stopper lever. assembly 12. Above the stopper head 15 are refractory sleeves 18 that generally extend upwardly along the rod a distance equal to the height of metal to be carried by the ladle. As noted, the nozzle 9 is placed on the bottom end wall 8 of the ladle, with nozzle outlet 10 extending down At its .20 that serve to line the and, with thenozzle, form sides are refractory members inner surface of the ladle shell A nozzle in accordance with the present invention includes a bore or passage 22 having its inlet or mouth portion at its top and its outlet at its bottom, whereby molten metal can be poured into a mold. .The upperfsurface of the nozzle is particularly shaped, in accordance with my discoveries, whereby an annular ledge 24 exists around the opening of the bore 22 at the upper surface of the nozzle. This ledge 24 can be of any size desired,

but a few inches, measured as a diameter, generally will be sufficient. Encircling of the ledge is an annular depression 26 that has outer and inner side walls inclined The nozzle surface extending outwardly from its bore beyond the depression 26 rises to a height slightly higher than the ledge surface 24, as at 27.

. The stopper head I -at its lower surface is shaped to seat at two locations on the upper surface of the nozzle hus, a first fiat portion 28 is located centrally on the bottom of the stopper head and is of a size to extend completely across the annular ledge 24 on the nozzle surface! Flat portion 28 forms the top wall of a circular recess in the bottom of the stopper. The side wall of the recess diverges downwardly around the inner wall of depression 26 and is spaced therefrom. The portion 30 of the stopper encircling its recess has an outer edge portion that engages the inclined side wall of the depression 26. Acocrdingly, when the Stopper surface 28 is seated on the annular ledge 24 of the nozzle, the annular edge of the stopper head will come into firm engagement with the distant side wall of the depression 26. It can thereby be seen that the nozzle and stopper assembly of the present invention provides two seating surfaces; the first is thatabout the bore 22, and the second is spaced laterally therefrom and is on the side edge of the lower portion of the stopper head.

'Molten metal exits the ladle 5 through the bore 22 of the pouring nozzle 9, and this flow is controlled by the stopper assembly 12. As the melt rotates around and enters the bore 22 of the nozzle, the inside edges of it and its top will tend to wear and erode away. This action may also occur on the mating portion 28 of the stopper, and in due course portions of these two portions of the structure will wear away. At that time, those two surfaces, i.e. surfaces 24 and 28, no longer will effectively prevent liquid from passing to the bore. In accordance with this invention, the seal is maintained without'regard to the erosion just mentioned since the annular portion 30 of the stopper 14 will continue to make sealing engagement with the outer side wall of the depression 26 in the'nozzle 9. When this portion alone provides the seal, it will be evident that it will more rapidly wear than theretofore. But the erosion in this case will be advantageous since, as those two surfaces erode relative to one another, the stopper can seat lower, thereby once again bringing the surface 28 into sealing contact with the annular ledge 24. It is, therefore, evident that the particular structure of thisinvention surprisingly cooperates to maintain and re-establi'shes sealing engagement despite the very conditions existing which heretofore have effectively prevented the obtention of'a sealing engagement.

. A second embodiment is shown in FIG. 3. In that'embodiment, the'stopper- 14 is shaped in the same fashion as described in conjunction with FIG. 2. Thus stopper head 14 has its central recess top wall 28 over the bore 22 of the nozzle 9. Nozzle 9 in this instance is composed only of'the central portion of that shown in FIG. 2. Its upper surface includes the annular ledge 24 about the bore 22, encircled .by a surface diverging downwardly. Unlike the nozzle of FIG. 2, that of FIG. 3 does not have in its upper surface an annular depression. However, the same effect is achieved by the tapered upper end portion .of the nozzle and the encircling inclined surfaces of the refractory blocks 20 in which the nozzle is resident. Thus the second point of contact of the stopper is provided where it engages those refractory blocks. It is therefore apparent that the self-sealing characteristic described with reference to FIG. 2 is also had with the embodiment of FIG. 3.

From the foregoing discussion and description, it is evident-that the present invention provides a unique advance in the art of stopper and nozzle assemblies for use with, for example, metal pouring ladles and the like. To

achieve the structure shown requires no more than suitable grinding. practices on structures 'as presently produced,:or the pre-shaping of molds if the indicated shape is to be produced while forming the stopper and nozzles.

It' will be further evident that no change is made in ladle operation, and the unique advance of this invention is attained without loss of any expected function of the structure.

It should further .be appreciated that changes, substitutions and the like can be made from the detailed disclosure without departing from the scope of my invention. For example, the depression at 26 in FIG. 2 can 5 come. to a point rather than be rounded as shown. Other changes will occur to those skilled in the art.

its best embodiment. However, I desire to have it under-' stood that, within the scope of the appended claims, the

invention'may be practiced otherwise than as specifically illustrated and described. p

I claim: a

1. In a metal ladle for receiving molten metal and having a pouring opening in its bottom, a refractory floor in the ladle provided with a vertical pouring passage extending upwardly through it from said opening, and a vertically movable circular refractory stopper in the ladle coaxial with said passage, said refractory floor being provided with an annular depression concentric with the passage and having and inwardly inclined outer side wall, said inner wall merging at its top into a substantially flat ledge encircling the upper end of said passage below the level of the top of said'outer wall, the bottom of the stopper beingprovided with a circular recess having a substantially flat top wall normally seated on said flat ledge, the sidewall of said recess extending downwardly around said inner wall of the depression and spaced therefrom, and theportion of the stopper encircling said recess normally seating on said outer wall. 1 a

2. In a metal ladle for receiving molten metal and having a pouring opening in its bottom, a refractoryfloor 'in the ladle including a'refractory nozzle disposed above said opening and provided with a vertical pouring passage therethrough, and a vertically movable circular refractory stopper above the nozzle and coaxial with said passage, the top of said nozzle being provided with an annular depression concentric with the passage and having outer and inner side walls inclined downwardly toward each other, said inner wall merging at its top into a substantially flat ledge encircling the upper end of said passage below the level of the top of said outer wall, the bottom of the stopper being provided with a circular recess having a substantially flat top wall normallyv seated on said flat ledge, the side wall of said recess extending downwardly around said inner wall of the depression and spaced therefrom, and the portion of the stopper encircling said recess normally seating on said outer wall; 7

References Cited Ly the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1 FOREIGN PATENTS 287,883 8/31 Italy.

MICHAEL V. BRINDISI, Primary Examiner.

MARCUS U. LYONS, Examiner.

an inner side wall and a downwardly v 

1. IN A METAL LADLE FOR RECEIVING MOLTEN METAL AND HAVING A POURING OPENING IN ITS BOTTOM, A REFRACTORY FLOOR IN THE LADLE PROVIDED WITH A VERTICAL POURING PASSAGE EXTENDING UPWARDLY THROUGH IT FROM SAID OPENING, AND A VERTICALLY MOVABLE CIRCULAR REFRACTORY STOPPER IN THE LADLE COAXIAL WITH SAID PASSAGE, SAID REFRACTORY FLOOR BEING PROVIDED WITH AN ANNULAR DEPRESSION CONCENTRIC WITH THE PASSAGE AND HAVING AN INNER SIDE WALL AND A DOWNWARDLY AND INWARDLY INCLINED OUTER SIDE WALL, SAID INNER WALL MERGING AT ITS TOP INTO A SUBSTANTIALLY FLAT LEDGE ENCIRCLING THE UPPER END OF SAID PASSAGE BELOW THE LEVEL OF THE TOP OF SAID OUTER WALL, THE BOTTOM OF THE STOPPER BEING PROVIDED WITH A CIRCULAR RECESS HAVING A SUBSTANTIALLY FLAT TOP WALL NORMALLY SEATED ON SAID FLAT LEDGE, THE SIDE WALL OF SAID RECESS EXTENDING DOWNWARDLY AROUND SAID INNER WALL OF THE DEPRESSION AND SPACED THEREFROM, AND THE PORTION OF THE STOPPER ENCIRCLING SAID RECESS NORMALLY SEATING ON SAID OUTER WALL. 